Garden tractor equipped with laterally shiftable earth working implement



Oct. l1, 1949. E. H. BARNES 2,484,264

GARDEN TRACTOR EQUIPPED WITH LATERA'LLY y SHIFTABLE EARTH WORKINGIMPLEMENT Filed Deje. 17, 1947 o Y I JNVENTOR.

ATRNE Y Patented Oct. 11, 1949 GGARDEN TRACTOR EQUBPEDfWImI-IJLATER-IALHY EARTH #WORKING 4['M- -PLEMEN T -Iby means=derivingritsp0wer fromthe .tractor en- A.

gine.

A further .objectis to .produce apower driven .garden cultivatorinwhich.v the cultivator can be swung'in one directionor` the .otherjfroinapower take-off, vclutch meansbeing.provided so that by manual Control,the eultivatorlmay'be swungin one.- directionorfthe othenan'd, to.theextentdesire'ciwithont .stoppingvtheltraetor onthe 'tractor engine,

'Other objets and advantagesgo'fthe invention .will -hereinafteriappearand for.purposes .of illustration .,but., not `of llirnitation, anlembodiment .of the invention is shown inthefaecompanying .draw-.ings,.in wnh HFigure `1 is a side elevation of a gardencl- ,tivator :in.which .the .eultivator vunit `may Y.be se- '.lectivly shifted laterally`inlone ,direction Yor lthe other;

-Figure'2is a bottom plan view f the cultiva- .-torlshownin Figure 1,and takensbtantially onthe'linei'2`2 ofiFigure il;

`Figure .3 is an enlarged .fragmentary sectional View substantiallyonthe 1nef3-'3 flEg-ure f2; Yand L'Figure 4 lis a. fragmentaryllan viewof .an allterna'te form .embodying `'two :rear `supporting or TCasterwheels.

'The illustrated embodiment of `the invention comprisesalpower idrivengarden cultivator Il) having a 'pair of riibber'tired tractor wheels IIYWhichfare suitably driven by 'a sprocket' and vChain 'drive `I`2 from agasoline for internal 'combustion "engine A`|"3. 'A 'pair of 'upwardlyand "rearwardly extending handle bars I 4 and-f5'aresuitablyeon fnectedfto 'the framenf the ""traotor to fen able *the operator Walking inrearf f "the traetor `to lfgu'ide it :Idu'ring 'working Y"oper-alt-ions.Cin rear of -the tractor f-isfan-'ear-th =Work1`n`gimpleinent il 5which, Ain this instan'ce,.-is in therform of a acultivator "staggeredformatiomalthough .thef-partieular-,iorm `of -the-.eultivator iforms nopartici-the. presentinvvention it being understood that? other Jforms ofearth fworking limpiements `may abe @used yto adr vantage.

Rigidly .secured 1'toopposite sides of the implement 1.6 =-at the firont4end thereof arearms l l"1 which .aregenerallyfL-shaped with'the:upright ,portion lfeae-h arm 'formed with 4elongate .s'lts Iliinvwl'xichsnins l.' L9 are adapted '-'to 'slidere'spec- ,tively.".I'hepins 'l9vare securedto a substantially U-shape'd actuating. memberandhithihaving yalpair of .rearwardlyeitending -armsintegralwithgacrossarm`2l. The .central portion fthe cross arm T21 lis formedwith anenlargement`.2`2 of substantiallydisc'form whinis disposedbeneath theI*hed 2'3 of"the'tractor'f`or rookingor pivotalmovementsvrelativelytherto. Direetly beneath `Jhejdisdportion 22a'rlatively small supporting wheel"24 whihissuppor-tedby a suitablebracket` 25, a4 king 15in `2`6 vI'ioassing' the braket and ldisc portionl'22 *through Sthe bed 123 to 'hold these parts 'in position .and to4'aiior'd the pivotalvmovement above mentioned. The mounting'issuchthatthe' wheel 24 can Aswing fr-@ely in one Ldirection orlthe .theraecordinglto tractor movement.

It yis desirable t'o shiftthelculti'vator I'B v`lterally of the 'tractorin lone direction 'or lth'e other without stopping tlietra'torandwhilethe Alatter Ais in 'operationiso asto bring"the'cu1tivato`rnearer 'toi'oraway from somepatieularlplant or `obet. For 'thislpurposaAon the under si'de of dthe'loed-23v is a pairof'rrak'ib'ars'fz'l and 28which areiguided "for movement longitudinally of `the 'bed 'bysliitablergibs 19. The rack bars Hand 28 are arranged on oppo'sitefsidesof the king Linin`2`6 andy pivdtally 'connected' to the under .sideofueach 'fethefraklbars'by apinSll-is va plate 3"! carryinga pair of'longitudinally spaced, depending .rollers3'2 between whichlis disposedthe'cross ar'm"2| of theU-shaped actuator'member above described.Thearrangement is such 'that fone `.or'the other f the raekibarsli'lan`d`2'8. may be s'hifted rearwardly. Thereby, "through fthe con--neetion above described, the-atuator meinberis Vrocked about-thefkingjpin "26 in 'one direction or theother for swinging'.or'shifting the cultivator I'itolthelrightZorlft of thetractor. Mani-'etIy, when the rack bar 28, for example, '.i's moved rearwardly 'of'the tractor, the rak'b'ar .L21 will be moved Iforiwardly.

',Meehanism isp'rovided for selectively moving Ltherack1bars,"bylpowermeans, and l'for this purjpose, apinion"33 mounted on-as'haftl3'4 engages Jthek rackbar'll. V`A,pin'ion` 3'5l mounte'dsonashaft 136 .engages y.the raekibar f2.8. The inner ends-of the @baits-3l-and @3 6 -are :supported .by ia bearing housing 31 secured 4'to :theAunderside @of -the -bed 23 .and `on the 4outerzside of each .rack bar,`the shafts are supported respectively by bearings 38. The outer end ofthe shaft 34 has a sprocket and chain connection 39 with a coupling partfree on the tractor driven shaft 40. Similarly, the shaft 36 has asprocket and chain connection 4I with a coupling part free on the drivenshaft 48. Manifestly, the shaft 4B is connected by suitable reductiongearing contained'in the gear case 42 affording the power takeoffoperative to drive the sprocket and chain connections I2 to the tractionwheels II.

In order operatively to connect the coupling forming a part of thesprocket and chain connection 39 or 4I with the shaft 40, a wire 43connects at its outer end to an operating arm 44 suitablyrconnected to acoupling part 45. The

wire 43 passes through a tube or sheath 46 and extends to an operatinglever 4'I on the outer end of the handle bar I5. Thus by rocking thelever 41, the wire 43 is pulled to actuate the. arm 44 to move thecouplingv part 45 into operative engagement thereby to drive thesprocket and chain connection 4I. Associated with the handle bar I4 is asimilar lever 48 from which extends a wire 49 through a sheath or tube58 to a similar` lever for operating a clutch part associated with thesprocket and chain drive 39. Thus it is apparent that either the rackbarV 21 is power actuated to shift or 'swing the cultivator frame in onedirection, or the pinion 35 may be driven for actuating the rack bar 28to swing the cultivator frame in the opposite direction. By releas- Aingeither lever 4I or 48, .the respective clutch Ais disengaged and thecultivator remains in the adjusted position.

(ground, a link 5I pivotally connects the front end portion of thecultivator with a lever 52 which Yis pivoted at its lower end to atoothed sector 53 which can swivel on the tractor bed. Figure 1 showsthe cultivator in its raised position. By

rocking the lever arm 52 rearwardly, the cultiva- V,tor may be loweredwith respect to the ground,

the slots I8 in the L-shaped arm I'I enabling such movement. /A springtensioned dog 54 on the lever 52 can be manipulated by a grip lever 55and normally engages a notch in the sector '53 to retain the cultivatorin the desired position of adjustment, either in its raised positionorrin its lowered working position. Manifestly the cultivator may beswung manually by the lever 52 in one direction or the other.

From the above description, it will be manifest that I have produced anexceedingly simple mechanism by which a cultivator or other earthworking implement may beV shifted laterally in one direction ortherother while the machine is in operation or while it is movingforwardly. Although vin the embodiment of my invention, I haveillustrated mechanical means foreifecting such shifting or swingingmovement, other means may be employed without departing from the Aspiritof the invention, an important feature of which is to eiectsuch shiftingmovement by vpower generated Yby the tractor engine.

Manifestly, instead of mechanical means for effecting such shiftingmovement, the rack bar as above described may be replaced by pistons ofa hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly or pneumatic means, thehydraulic or pneumatic pump in such case being driven from the tractorengine.

The advantage of using the caster wheels such as 24 or 24a and 24hresides in controlling the depth of the cultivator during its work andalso the balancing of the tractor, facilitating turning and maneuvering.These wheels also support the `cultivator out of the ground.

It should also be understood that the lever 52 enables the cultivator tobe readily lifted or lowered and also enables the cultivator to bedisposed at the same depth in the ground resulting in easier operatingand more uniform cultivating.

Numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operationmay be effected without departing from the spirit of the inventionespeciallyas defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

. l.A A power driven tractor, -a ground working implement at the rear ofthe tractor, a hitch connecting said implement and said tractor, meansmounting said hitch for lateral shifting movements, a pair of laterallyspaced rectilinearly movable members connected at one end respectivelyto laterally spaced portions of said hitch so that upon movement of eachof said members in one direction or the other, the hitch and implementare shifted laterally in one direction or the other, normallyinoperative propelling mechanisms for said rectilinearly movable membersrespectively deriving power from the tractor, and control devices foryselectively rendering operative one or vthe other propelling mechanism.

prise rack bars and the propelling mechanisms include pinions meshingrespectively with said rack bars.

l V4. A power driven tractor as claimed in claim 3, in which the controldevices include clutches for operatively connecting vthe pinions to thetractor drive.

5. A garden tractor having a self-contained power plant, anv implementat the rear of the tractor, ahitch connecting said implement and saidtractor, a pivotal mounting for the hitch enabling same to swinglaterally in one direction or the other, a pair of laterally spaced barsmounted on'said tractor and connected to said hitch for impartingswinging movement to said hitch and implement, drive means drivinglyconnected to said bars, respectively, and operative connections betweensaid drive means and the tractor power plant, said connections includingmanually operated clutches for driving one drive means or the other.

6. A garden tractor having a self-contained power plant, a cultivator atthe rear of the tractor,V a hitch connecting said cultivator and saidtractor, a pivotal mounting for the hitch enabling same to swinglaterally in one direction or the other, a pair of laterally spaced rackbars mounted vbars respectively, and operative connections between saidpinions and the tractor power plant,

a U-shaped actuator, the free ends 0f which are e secured to the forwardend of the cultivator, a pivotal connection between the central portionof the cross member of the U and the tractor enabling the cultivator toswing laterally in one direction or the other, caster wheel meansdepending from the actuator, a pair of laterally spaced rack bars on thetractor for sliding movement longitudinally thereof, a member pivoted tothe rear end of each rack bar and having a pair of spaced rollers toreceive therebetween a portion of the cross member of the actuatorwhereby upon rearward shifting movement of one or the other of the rackbars, rocking movement is imparted to the actuator, pnions engaging saidrack bars respectively, clutch and power transmission means connectingsaid power plant and said pinions, and means for selectively operatingsaid clutch means for selectively driving said rack bars.

EDWIN H. BARNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS if Nazne Date 1,008,837 Luke et al Nov. 14, 19111,368,433 Hicks Feb. 15, 1921 1,376,344 Lamiell Apr. 26, 1921 1,385,193Showalter July 19, 1921 1,351,142 Welbourne Mar. 29, 1932 2,089,137Slife et al. Aug. 3, 1937 2,339,225 Strandlund Jan. 11, 1944

